Good Morning and welcome to my first post with the 3 of the  OH SO TALENTED ladies that are a part of the 3-D Thursday Post..Twila Davis, Debbie Henderson and Sarah Wills. I have a funny for you before we get into this post…you know me, I love to share stories with you!

If you are new to my blog….WELCOME and you will quickly learn that I love to craft (duh!!!), I love my peeps (they have all flown the nest), I love my animals (dogs, horses, a beautiful piggy, and a dumb donkey).…I have the sweetest husband in the world (John) and the thing that I like most of all about my blog is that I love to share my love of crafting and life with YOU and it is my goal to make sure that you understand every step and what makes me roll! OK….moving on!

Back in October I received an email from Sarah Wills and honestly I thought it was spam/junk mail…basically a huge joke. I did open it and she was asking me if I wanted to join these ladies with this Thursday FUN that they so graciously do each and every week! I immediately thought….this is a JOKE….me???? Simple me that loves 3-D’s but mine are about the most basic things that come down the pike!?!?

I admit, I did chuckle and when I responded I said….are you sure??? I know that we are all perhaps in the same boat of following other blogs…..and YEP – this Thursday 3-D group of talented gals I have followed and I have also made and shared with YOU some of their ideas!

Well….here you GO! I make these each year and each year I am always beings asked…..can you send me the dimensions of how to make a decorative check holder! Well…here you go! The most important thing to remember is…..there are NO RULES in how or what to use to decorate them however I think that these Snow Flakes are just stunning!

My main objective to decorating them for you this year was to show you how you could easily do a Masculine Twist to it buy having a “Search and Rescue” session with your DSP that you have hoarded away…..(I know that YOU ARE OUT THERE)….Well let me ease your pain in trying to think out of the box!

There are GREAT option with the Twinkle Twinkle DSP and also the Best Route DSP (this is really one of my favorites and I believe that it is (sooooooo overlooked). We all know that there are some handsome plaids in the Holiday offerings but for today I wanted to share with you how you probably already have something that will work!

The next thing that I wanted to showcase was this AMAZING and classic Snowflake from the Limited Edition Snowfall Thinlits – and TOMORROW IS YOUR LAST DAY to grab them as they will be retired. Click here to see a post that I did yesterday using them, There is just something so special about a snowflake!

Have fun scrolling through the pictures and at the end of the post you will see that there is a PDF for you to use for a reference. One thing I always share with you all is..when you see a project that interests you….I would STOP and make the time to make one up – that way you will get the feel of what you are reading and seeing with the pictures. You do not have to go through all of the fru-fru details of embellishing it…it is just to get a good and solid feel!

Here are a list of bullet points that I feel strongly about in having success with this project… (I know that you all probably already know all of this….but just in case)

• Use the Simply Scored Tool  – I know that our trimmer has a scoring part to it but honestly you will see a deeper and cleaner score line with this tool. This goes in my “MUST HAVE BASIC TOOLS” for a card maker!
• Use a Bone Folder – Again, having the right tools makes all of the difference in the world. Using a bone folder will ensure a clean and crisp image.
• Use a super strong adhesive – In my opinion, I love the tear n tape for most 3 -D projects. I just think that it allows for a super strong hold!
• For adhering paper and embellishments….I still have a bunch of Fast Fuse and I do LOVE IT but I also highly recommend the mono glue (aka green glue). I am personally not a fan of our snail adhesive but I realize that many adore it….
• Do not make your “belly band” too tight…this is something that always seems to happen when you make your 1st one. I simply fold one side over and then repeat for a loose crease and then I remove it and give it a great score with the bone folder!

Any small punch will work, I just used the 1″ one!

You can see that you use a minimal amount of DSP….just try to be clean and tidy with lining up the pieces! Take the extra time to line things up is a great habit to get into for always walking away with a professional and classic look!

Here is the star of the show and it is SOOO darn tootin easy to make and it has a huge WOW factor! I wish that you could see it in person as it is quite a beauty!

I was tickled with the look of coloring in 2nd image (I cut it out of vellum) with the Stampin’ Blends! Naturally this is optional but it does make the layering interesting. I did use the  Blend on the pearl as well!

As for adhering them….because I used some of the Sparkle Glimmer Paper….I did use several glu dots to hold them in place but have fun with dimensionals etc….remember, no rules…just use up what you have!

You can see on the one to the left I did heat emboss a sentiment from the Beautiful Blizzard Stamp Set. I know we all have many options that we could use but honestly most if the time I let the “fru-fru” from the front be the only adornment!

Here is a GREAT IDEA – if you have someone that love to travel…and/or if you are giving them a trip….WHAT FUN this paper is! I was super excited and also the bicycle print that is also in the Best Route DSP….that is another keeper to make for a project like this!

Remember…the sky is the limit with how you can have fun with these! This has been such a fun paper. A quick fussy cut of Santa did the tick! We all have a smile on our face when we see this sweet paper.

Well…there you go my friends! If you wish to subscribe to my blog…just put your email in the box! It is under my picture on the upper right hand side of my blog! Below you will see the PDF for you to print off if you wish.

Please do not hesitate to send me an email of you have any questions about the project! I would also love if you leave a comment and let me know how you like this project. I feel super blessed with a great group of “blog groupies” and we sure do love to yack back and forth!

Pop back tomorrow as I will have a great smile maker for you that is not only super easy….it is a project that you could whip up in no time and you will have a bunch of “new best friends” as they will LOVE IT!

Here are the the 3 talented ladies that graciously invited me to join this Thursday fun….please grab a cup of coffee and enjoy seeing their talent…I know your jaw will be dropping! It is just a blessing that this thing that we love to do with our hands…can take us all over our great country and develop friendships!

Twila Davis – Stamp A Little Longer

Debbie Henderson – Debbie’s Designs

Sarah Wills – Sarah’s Ink Spot

Click below for the printable PDF for you!

3-D Thursday Check Holder